Fantasy Football Week 3 Rankings: Top 20 Tight Ends

Let’s keep our Week 3 rankings rolling with a look at the Top 20 tight ends for the coming week:

Jason Witten – Dallas Cowboys – vs. Washington

Rob Gronkowski – New England – at Buffalo

Antonio Gates – San Diego Chargers – vs. Kansas City

Jimmy Graham – New Orleans – vs. Houston

Jermichael Finley – Green Bay Packers – at Chicago

Tony Gonzalez – Atlanta Falcons – at Tampa Bay

Kellen Winslow – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – vs. Atlanta

Dustin Keller – New York Jets – at Oakland

Dallas Clark – Indianapolis Colts – vs. Pittsburgh

Vernon Davis – San Francisco 49ers – at Cincinnati

Fred Davis – Washington Redskins – at Dallas

Owen Daniels – Houston Texans – at New Orleans

Scott Chandler – Buffalo Bills – vs. New England

Jermaine Gresham – Cincinnati Bengals – vs. San Francisco

Brandon Pettigrew – Detroit Lions – at Minnesota

Greg Olsen – Carolina Panthers – vs. Jacksonville

Marcedes Lewis – Jacksonville Jaguars – at Carolina

Zach Miller – Seattle Seahawks – vs. Arizona

Brent Celek – Philadelphia Eagles – vs. New York Giants

Ed Dickson – Baltimore Ravens – at St. Louis

Thoughts:

Even with Aaron Hernandez in the lineup Rob Gronkowski has been among the best tight ends in the league. While all of Hernandez’ targets obviously aren’t going to go to Gronkowski, it is hard to argue against him this week. He had already developed into a must-use option, right now he just looks like one of the elite.

Antonio Gates had a bad week. It happens to everyone. Don’t discount him because of it.

If anyone was wondering who the better tight end option in Washington is, all you have to do is look at the numbers. Fred Davis has 11 receptions for 191 yards and 1 TD. Chris Cooley has 2 receptions for 21 yards. Any questions?

Does anyone still believe that Tony Gonzalez is out of gas? He has 12 receptions for 155 yards over the first two weeks and is tied for third among tight ends in targets with 16. Clearly, he’s been a benefactor of the Falcons' new run-and-gun style offense. They are currently 11th in the league with 74 total targets, so there should continue to be plenty of balls to go around.

Vernon Davis has been targeted just eight times thus far in 2011. Really?! We all know he has the talent, plus it is not like the 49ers are stocked with talent on the outside. I know they have issues offensively, but don’t write him off. Look for the 49ers to correct the issue before long.

The Bills-Patriots game has the potential to break down into a shootout. While Scott Chandler wasn’t quite as productive in Week 2 (2 receptions for 16 yards and 1 TD), he has proven to be a big-time target in the red zone. Consider him a potential low end TE1 for the coming week, though he’s probably better suited as a TE2.

Brent Celek was actually targeted seven times in Week 2. Maybe it is too early to completely write him off, huh?

Make sure to check out the rest of Rotoprofessor’s Week 3 information: